U.S. Jobless Claims Dip Slightly More Than Expected To 220,000

(RTTNews) - First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell by slightly more than expected in the week ended November 15th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.

The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 220,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week's level of 228,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 223,000.

The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also slipped to 224,250, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's average of 227,250.

"We are watching initial jobless claims data closely for signs that recent layoff announcements are translating into significant job losses, but the evidence isn't there yet," said Grace Zwemmer, Associate Economist at Oxford Economics.

Meanwhile, the report said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance climbed by 28,000 to 1.974 million in the week ended November 8th.

With the increase, continuing claims reached their highest level since hitting 2.041 million in the week ended November 6, 2021.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims also reached a nearly four-year high, rising by 6,750 to 1,960,250.

"Elevated continued claims are consistent with a labor market characterized by a sluggish pace of hiring," said Zwemmer.

A separate report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed employment in the U.S. increased by much more than expected in the month of September.

The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment jumped by 119,000 jobs in September after a revised dip of 4,000 jobs in August.

Economists had expected employment to rise by 50,000 jobs compared to the addition of 22,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The Labor Department also said the unemployment rate crept up to 4.4 percent in September from 4.3 percent in August. The unemployment rate was expected to remain unchanged.